Sudan's government has blocked a United Nations human rights team from entering the country to investigate alleged atrocities in Darfur. The government has questioned the objectivity of one team member and has called for him to be replaced.

Experts at a research organization in Washington held a conference Thursday to suggest aggressive changes in international policy are needed to end the violent conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, where African rebels fight with Sudanese troops and government-backed Arab militias known as janjaweed.

Sudan suffered two major blows Monday when it was overlooked for the chairmanship of the African Union and was told by the chief of the United Nations to get serious about ending the conflict in Darfur. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.

The interim U.N. envoy to Sudan is appealing for a cessation of hostilities in the Darfur region, saying only a political solution can resolve the crisis, which has claimed hundreds-of-thousands of lives. Noel King has this report for VOA from Khartoum.

The Bush administration says it supports the effort by New Mexico state Governor Bill Richardson to persuade Sudan to drop its objection to new peacekeeping troops for Darfur. State Department officials say Sudanese leaders have sounded more conciliatory on the issue in recent days, but that the United States is not dropping a threat of punitive action against Khartoum. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The United States has condemned the Sudanese government for bombing rebel positions in the troubled Darfur region in violation of a ceasefire agreement.

For yet another year, Sudan's Darfur region has been in the news repeatedly, with media reports using language such as genocide, atrocities, rape and pillaging. Despite a peace deal signed last May between the government and rebels, many observers say Darfur has sunk deeper into violence and despair.

The United States said Thursday there has been some "positive movement" by Sudan in allowing deployment of advance elements of new U.N. and African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. However, the State Department says the international community is not yet prepared to set aside a threat of punitive action against the Khartoum government. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Sudan has rejected a plea by departing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for a hybrid U.N. / African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. From the United Nations, VOA's Peter Heinlein says Mr. Annan - in a final appearance before the Security Council - urged envoys to keep pressure on Khartoum to accept a blue-helmeted peacekeeping mission.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he is optimistic that Sudan's government will soon allow a joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission to enforce a ceasefire in Darfur. VOA's correspondent at the U.N. Peter Heinlein reports.

The Bush administration served notice Wednesday it will take a "different approach" toward the Sudanese government if it does not take specific steps towards deploying a new international peacekeeping force in Darfur by the end of the year. Authorities in Khartoum are resisting a United Nations-backed plan for a so-called "hybrid" force of U.N. and African Union troops. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Sudan hosted summits by both the African Union and Arab League during the past year, and it has one of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world. But the country's Darfur region remains wracked by a deadly conflict that will soon enter its fourth year. Sudan has repeatedly turned away United Nations peacekeeping efforts, despite the threat of a wider conflict engulfing neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.